Elysium's Love Triangle

by Aoife Metcalfe

He looks like his world is falling apart. The boy is extremely remorseful for bringing me here.

  I can’t believe it.

  He has sold me out.

  He’s one of them.

  One of Rejon’s right hand men.

  I look at the Cezers outside, just waiting.

  A chill goes down my spine.

  There is no escape, I realise.

  I am completely trapped.

  Chapter Seven

  I am locked in a cellar.

  It is a posh enough one in truth. A cabinet encasing old wine runs almost the whole way around it.

  Most of the wines here must be worth a fortune. When they first locked me in here I broke a few.

  That was back when I thought that having a fit would make a difference.

  It doesn’t. They still won’t open the door.

  Screaming doesn’t make a difference either.

  The door is made of steel, locked from the outside.

  I cannot open it. I kicked it so hard earlier that I hurt my leg.

  I think I’ve been in here for hours. It’s hard to tell. They took my watch after one kid suggested that I’d go ‘insane’ quicker without it.

  I am sitting quietly now, in a corner. I used up too much energy in the beginning.

  I wonder if they’ll bring me food.

  I wonder if Rejon will come and ‘chat’ with me soon.

  They said that he wishes to talk to me. This is why he wanted me brought here.

  He doesn’t want to kill me, they assured me.

  No, he wants me to join them.

  I told them that this would never happen.

  A handsome kid with grey eyes, known as ‘Cairo’, threw me in here.

  Tanya was out there. She is one of them too.

  She wasn’t very supportive of me at all.

  She suggested killing me when I refused to join their group.

  No one else wanted that.

  Rejon would decide my punishment, they all said.

  Obviously after he has this chat with me that he so much desires.

  There are guards at the doors. I can hear them talking, muffled voices.

  One of them is Greg. I recognise his voice despite the low volume.

  I nearly begin to cry when I hear it.

  He told me, before we got out of the car, that he didn’t want to bring me here.

  Rejon gave him two choices.

  Watch me die painfully at school or bring me here for this ‘talk’.

  Greg was only trying to save my life.

  I believe him, his distress seemed pretty genuine.

  I’m pretty sure that I can still hear it in his voice now.

  Rejon used that boy’s feelings for me to manipulate him into doing his biding.

  I am not looking forward to this chat. Rejon will surely be pretty angry when I refuse to join him. I am afraid of what he might do to me.

  Still, he shall not intimidate me into turning my back on my people.

  I think of our group now.

  Daniel.

  It’s when I think of him that the tears finally come. I promised him that I was safe.

  He knew better.

  I want to hear his voice again, so much.

  I can’t.

  Tanya took my phone earlier and smashed it on the ground.

  There is no way to alert anyone that I am here.

  It get’s hard to breath when I realise this. The space seems smaller.

  What if they kill me?

  I imagine some cop giving my Mom the news. It is not a pretty picture.

  She already lost my Dad. I can’t even imagine what losing me too would do to her.

  I am all she has left of him. She said it just last week to me.

  Dad was away at boarding school a lot, learning to be ‘excellent’ no doubt. When he had a week off he would spend it almost completely with me. He’d spoil me rotten. I always loved it when he came home.

  I loved him so much, so did my Mom. She was always happier when he was around, you could see it in her eyes.

  I find myself thinking of Uncle Riley now, the one she has apparently moved onto.

  He was only a teenager when I born, just like my Dad.

  I have this clear memory of Dad working on some mid-term homework as Riley flexed his muscles in the mirror. This happened a lot I think. Riley always admired himself and often expressed the thought that he’d be a famous Actor.

  He won class president. I remember him bragging about it in front of my Mom that evening.

  I wish Dad was here now. He could always calm me down when I was scared.

  I remember running up to the kitchen from bed one night, afraid that there was someone watching me. I was sure that I’d heard a noise from under my bed. I was convinced that it was the Boogey-Man, come to take me away.

  Dad took a break from his assignment to make me some hot chocolate.

  He told me that there was no such thing as the Boogey-Man.

  I remember Riley walking in soon after this, boasting that he’d just been made Captain of the Basketball team.

  My Dad quickly changed his mind about the Boogey-Man. The Boogey-Man did exist, apparently. His name was Riley Darkwood, he said. He was to be avoided at all costs. If he catches you he may just put you on the ‘not-popular’ list he so nicely makes and shows to everyone at school.

  Riley just smiled. The words he said then, to my father, have stuck with me, “Get over it, Bro. It’s not my fault you’re such a loser.”

  I don’t think they ever got along that well. They were always bickering like that.

  I later told my Dad that he wasn’t a ‘loser’. Uncle Riley must be confusing him with someone else, I said.

  My Dad had smiled at me like I was the most precious thing in the world then.

  It almost calms me to remember it now.

  This sense of ease soon leaves me.

  Something here suddenly seems very wrong, different.

  It takes me a few moments to realise that the talking outside has stopped. This is what I have picked up on.

  One of the guards has left, perhaps they both have.

  I jump up and walk over to the door, putting my ear against it now.

  For a while I hear nothing.

  Then a voice speaks. My heart nearly jumps out of my chest at the sound.

  It’s Daniel.

  At first I barely let myself believe it.

  I know his voice, though. It is unmistakably him out there.

  Greg is talking back.

  Daniel sounds pretty angry with him.

  I strain to hear.

  I finally pick up on what Daniel is saying, “Let her go, now.”

  Greg sighs, “You know, I saw a spider on the floor. Should’ve known it would be one of you guys . . .”

  Daniel’s voice sounds both stressed and stern, “Give me the key to that door and I will refrain from hurting you.”

  Greg sounds at the end of his patience, “You don’t know the whole story, you ignoramus. If you take her now Rejon will kill her, probably pretty soon too. Is that what you want? Her only chance is to join us. That way she will be safe.”

  I don’t want to join Rejon.

  I begin banging on the door and screaming again. This might spur Daniel on. I don’t want Greg’s speech to change his mind about getting me out of here.

  “I can’t leave her here,” Daniel sounds subdued. “Give me the key.”

  “Did you hear me? She’s safer here,” Greg insists.

  There is a conviction in Daniel’s voice now, “I won’t let Rejon harm her, Greg, I promise. I will guard her every minute of every day.”

  It takes Greg a few moments to respond. His voice cracks a bit when he does, “Do you promise me you won’t let him get her?”

  Daniel remains sure, “I promise you here and now, Greg. He won’t get to her while I’m alive.”

  Greg seems to be considering it. His voice is soft now, “Okay. You better hold up your e
nd of this bargain Danny. If something happens to her I will hold you responsible. I will hunt you down and it will not be pretty, do you get what I’m saying?”

  Daniel seems to get it, “Yes, and if you ever help Rejon to get to her again I will personally hunt you down. It won’t be very pretty either.”

  The key turns in the lock as Greg answers, “Understood.”

  I jump in Daniel’s arms the minute I am let out.

  I don’t want to ever leave this embrace. Tears are still coming from my eyes.

  Greg interrupts and insists that we get away from here quickly. The other guard will be back in a few moments, we don’t have a lot of time.

  I look at him, worried. They will know that he let me go. There is no way Rejon won’t punish him somehow for that.

  I don’t want him to get hurt because of me.

  What if they do something terrible to him?

  I begin to fear for his safety.

  He can obviously see this fear and addresses me, “I’ll be fine.”

  He isn’t sure; it’s obvious from his tone.

  I don’t want to leave him to face Rejon’s wrath alone.

  Greg acts like he doesn’t hear any of my protests. He just shows me and Daniel to a door at the back of the house, checking down every hallway before we go through.

  He warns us that there are three Cezers waiting for Rejon out front. We have to be extremely quiet once outside.

  If they hear us it is all over, for all three of us.

  He gets another key from his pocket and unlocks the door.

  Freedom is suddenly right in front of me.

  “Come with us,” I say to Greg.

  He refuses. He is going to guard the basement as if I’m still locked in there, to fool the others. This will buy me and Daniel some extra time to get away.

  Besides, Rejon doesn’t like when his followers run away. He can’t imagine the punishment he would get for both freeing captives and deserting.

  It would be better to just be guilty of one crime, he thinks.

  He sounds very solemn.

  I really don’t like leaving him in the firing line like this.

  “Now, get going,” he insists, gesturing outside.

  I am about to argue but Daniel grabs my hand. Next thing I know we are outside, running as fast as possible away from here.

  I just follow his lead. We climb over a fence into a field at the back of the house.

  We don’t stop running. We have no idea if they heard us.

  A few fields away we finally come across his car and jump in.

  He parked it here earlier, he tells me.

  Quickly he turns the key in the ignition. We find the road in no time at all.

  I almost tell him to speed up. I just want to get away from there as fast as possible.

  There are so many things going through my mind.

  How close I came to being at Rejon’s mercy.

  All the new things I know about Greg.

  The fact that Tanya is one of them.

  I can suddenly understand why Angelica doesn’t trust anyone.

  “Are you okay?” Daniel asks softly, noticing my long silence.

  I still can’t believe it.

  I try to keep my voice from betraying my surge of emotion, “They were going to kill me.”

  Daniel glances over at me, before answering sadly, “I am so sorry for bringing you into this horrible world of ours.”

  I don’t blame him for that. It was my fault.

  I want to tell him this.

  Instead I find myself saying, “Thanks for saving my life . . . Twice.”

  I wouldn’t have survived today, or the night I was changed, without him. Nate’s group wanted to kill me as well. Danny was the one who’d changed their minds.

  Daniel smiles, “It would be nice if you stopped getting yourself into perilous situations.”

  I answer seriously. I tell him that I’m sorry for putting him in danger today.

  Saving me isn’t exactly a very safe hobby after all.

  He tells me that it’s fine. He did have to use up one of his ten spider-transformations to get inside but it was worth it.

  He knew I was in trouble when my mobile phone went out of service.

  That’s when he left school to look for me. Angelica put a tracking device on Greg’s car yesterday. She does this to all her sort-of boyfriends. This way she knows if they’re sneaking off to see another girl, or if they’re lying about where they are.

  Daniel had told her recently to stop doing this. He was so glad, today, that she hadn’t listened.

  The device showed him exactly where Greg had brought me. He would’ve had no idea where to look without it.

  There is a new fear, alongside being buried alive, in his mind.

  He fears losing me.

  He is so completely afraid of something happening to me. It’s stronger than his fear for himself.

  It takes me a few moments to process this.

  I just don’t understand what this boy sees in me.

  What if I lose him?

  He just saved me from Rejon, whom was already sending him death-threats before.

  My boyfriend is in so much danger.

  This thought fills me with dread as I look at him now.

  He’s become my constant in this world of craziness. The one who I know will always be there for me.

  A song on the radio takes my notice now. It has just begun.

  The same one I heard earlier with Greg.

  Daniel comments that this song breaks his heart. The poor country singer missed his wedding to his ‘sweetheart’ after all. She never comes back.

  It’s very sad, he thinks.

  I think of the words Greg sang to it earlier, especially the double entendre about the ‘big’ surprise the man got on his wedding night.

  I can’t help it.

  I find myself in the fits of laughter.

  I am pretty sure Daniel thinks that I’ve gone delirious.

  After this I find myself getting quite tired. It has been a long day after all.

  Daniels presence makes me feel safe, protected.

  I fall asleep.

  *

  Daniel wakes me up when we arrive back at school.

  He tells me that it is nearly time for our group’s meeting.

  I know that we have to attend. It is vital for us to get an update on our group’s knowledge of Rejon. We also need to find out about our plan of attack against him.

  I haven’t fed for a while either. I don’t think I could go another day without doing so.

  I get out of the car and the cold air of the night hits me.

  The moon is shining and full tonight. The sky is lit up with stars that enchant me at first notice.

  It is truly a wonderful sight.

  Daniel smiles and takes my hand. We eventually sit down at the fountain in front of our school. It was sculpted two hundred years ago by ‘the best sculptor who ever lived’ according to school literature. They never do mention his name.

  His creation was wonderful though. The fountain itself is shaped like a tree, only this particular tree has diamonds instead of leaves. The clear water is pouring into it now, calming me further with its constant re-assuring sound.

  Daniel surprises me when he takes a small black camera out of his pocket.

  He holds it up so that both of us will be in the picture.

  Then he puts his other arm around my shoulder, bringing us closer together, “Smile!”

  “What’s all this?” I ask when the photo’s been taken, “You into photography?”

  He explains bashfully.

  Today, back when my life was in danger, he realised that there wasn’t a photo of the two of us together anywhere in existence.

  He didn’t have a single memento of our relationship, albeit a brief one.

  He promised himself that, if he found me, he would take a photo every-day. The two of us would be in them and we would both write a co
mment, or message, on the back of the picture. This would be for the other to read, and to help us remember how we felt on that particular day.

  It is his hope that it will grow into quite a big collection.

  “Danny, that is so sweet,” I say, falling even more for him.

  He shrugs it off and smiles softly. The photo prints out straight away from the camera.

  Daniel looks at it first. He keeps it concealed as he scrawls his message on the back.

  He laughs at my repeated attempts to peer over his shoulder to see what he’s writing.

  I can’t help being curious, it’s in my nature. My Mom always used to say that my curiosity was a trait I got from my father. I used to investigate everything that I’d find in the garden at home. I used to bring all types of bugs into the house, back when I was very young. I’d always ask Mom what this creature was called. Then she’d shriek.

  With Dad it was different. He’d tell me calmly that it a ‘snail’ or a ‘beetle’ or whatever. Then he’d tell me that this kind of creature ‘preferred’ to be outside.

  I remember I dropped a spider one day. Uncle Riley stepped on the poor thing, killing it.

  Then he laughed.

  I dramatically called him a ‘murderer’ and cried for hours.

  Eventually he agreed to hold a funeral for the thing. Mostly to shut me up I’m sure. He still didn’t look very sorry.

  I am distracted from this memory when Daniel hands me the photo.

  He looks pretty hot in it.

  I still look like a stranger to myself.

  “I still can’t believe how different I look,” I comment. “I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the eyes.”

  Daniel begins to say something but then, at the last minute, refrains from doing so.

  “What?” I ask.

  He glances away for a moment, “Well, I just was just gonna tell you . . . Nah, never mind.”

  “Go on, what is it?” I urge.

  He smiles shyly and continues, “Do you remember, on the plane? You had your eyes closed when I first turned to look at you. I could sense your fear, you see, that’s what got my attention. You only opened your eyes when I asked if you were alright. . . I was completely stunned. You had the most beautiful eyes I’d ever seen. Looking into them I almost felt like I knew you, for ages, already. . . Anyway I’ll stop opening up like an idiot now and go back to being normal.”

  He looks at me, hesitantly, to see my reaction. I don’t know why he’s always so reluctant to open up about things.